Category: Small Family 
Price Range: £15,265 to £26,525
A hatch with a touch of subtle glamour, the A3 is superbly built, and has safety engineering second to none.
Expensive and confined in the rear.
Consider it as a classy, practical coupe (even the five-door), and you won't be disappointed. Don't consider it as an expensive Golf - it's too cramped.
Audis have better than average reliability, especially in later life. The A3 doesn't quite match the best Japanese models for freedom from faults, but it's durable over the long term. Build quality is excellent, a cut above all but the VW Golf, to which it is related. The main problem with the A3 has been the 1.8 20v petrol engine, which was prone to ignition coil failure, snapped timing belts and failed water pumps.
Latest Readers' Drives About the Audi A3
wrote on 18 05 2007
wrote on 07 10 2006
wrote on 09 06 2006